Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum Lands Role In Fox Comedy ‘Breaking In’

Rosenbaum has landed a recurring role on Fox’s midseason sitcom Breaking In, where he plays an insufferably frat-boyish love interest for the series’ female lead.

Breaking Inis a half-hour comedy about a computer security firm that tests its clients’ systems by hacking into them. From the first trailer released by Fox, it looks something like a combination between the workplace hijinks of The Office and the quasi-technical drama of Swordfish.

Fox’s latest features Bret Harrison (V) as Cameron Price, an overwhelmed young hacker who joins the team of eccentric and intimidating alpha geeks. Christian Slater plays his employer Oz, and if the trailer is any indication, the character may be the most overbearing tech executive since Steve Jobs. Odette Yustman of Brothers and Sisters is a fellow hacker and the object of Price’s affection. The series is helmed by Adam Sandler’s production company Happy Madison.

Rosenbaum plays Dutch, a Hummer-driving spikey-haired jerk and current boyfriend to Yutsman’s character. The trailer casts him in the light of an unapologetic antagonist, the kind of guy geeks like Price dreaded meeting outside of 3rd-grade homeroom. It looks to make for some enjoyable sympathy laughs, and executive producer Doug Robinson seems to agree. He told TV Line that while Rosenbaum isn’t currently a series regular, he’d probably be on board for the pilot – and the initial six episodes. Both the producer and Odette Yutsman praised Rosenbaum’s performance. Robinson also hinted at the possibility of bringing him into the core cast in the future:

“We’re thinking about bringing Dutch into the office and making him a part of the team, and maybe play out that triangle a little bit more.”

Check out the trailer for Breaking In below:

Breaking In premieres in April, and shooting on the next batch of episodes will begin in late February. Rosenbaum’s future on the show is almost certainly hinged upon fan viewer’s reaction to his character, although considering Fox’s penchant for cutting the legs out from under young series, the producers are probably more concerned with making it to a second season. With the premiere set after the next round of shooting, Dutch might not return unless the series is renewed.

Of course, while fans of Rosenbaum would love to see him succeed, the fact that Breaking In is filming at the same time as Smallville‘s final season might have some hoping for this new series to fail. If for no other reason than for Rosenbaum’s return to Smallville – as the familiar Lex Luthor becomes much more of a possibility.